Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The threads the last few days have made me really happy I got out of teaching last year. Nothing like being told how lazy you are when you give these kids everything you have.

*just so long as "everything" doesn't include shoveling or feeling cold during the commute.

Anonymous wrote:I took the bus to work two days last week and am waking the dogs a few miles a day and it is pretty challenging and unsafe. So many of the cross walks are blocked by mountains of ice that th plows pushed into the crosswalk. I fell once and just banged my shin bad on ice but if you have many many kids out there I think some will get hurt.
I’m bummed because I’m super stressed about my teens missing this much school before APs but I just don’t think it’s safe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The sidewalk off darnestown road and quince orchard road to Quince Orchard HS were not plowed at all yesterday. It is quite dangerous for kids/teens to walk on the road to get to school.

Then walk on the snow. I'm sure there are plenty of footsteps to follow.

No it is pure ice.

How is this a hard concept?

Get a dictionary.

Anonymous wrote:Hate to pile on(pun intended) the already difficult job the county has but I really wish they had taken the DC approach and actually remove the snow rather than just push it around. It would take a little more effort and logistics but it would make things a lot safer if they had loaded snow and ice into trucks and dump trailers and gone and dumped it at like Lakeforest Mall's empty lot.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm appreciative that they were slow to reopen for the reasons described in this thread. But more time out of school just isn't tenable. It's going to be below zero all week. The problems present now will also be there a week from now.

I think they should institute some flexibility. For instance, starting 2 hours late but allowing drop off from normal start time until the delayed start time to reduce traffic. Maybe even putting busses on a different schedule spanning that full window (though this may be difficult given that they haven't telegraphed it ahead of time).

I wonder if they could enlist MOCO law enforcement to do traffic control for the morning and afternoon hours?

Ideally, MCPS will use this opportunity to come up with an emergency plan for severe weather in the coming year-- for instance, building it into some employees' contracts that on certain emergency days they are assigned crossing guard duty or bus stop duty to keep kids safe in the morning before school.

I'm not sure about all of these suggestions (teachers as crossing guards seems wrong to me) but I agree that some creative ideas are necessary. How about permitting Zoom school for HS students, all of whom have chrome books? Allow teachers to require asychronous work (esp for AP classes)?

The biggest problem I see - living a few blocks from an elementary school - is that there are GIANT piles of snow and ice at every intersection that reduce visibility. Just yesterday a dump truck T-boned a small car about a block away from the elementary school on my street (NCC.) Most of the neighborhood streets are down to one way (and drivers seem completely unwilling to drive more slowly despite that fact.) I'm not a snowflake but I recognize that there are real risks to 160k+++ kids trying to walk to schools and busstops often before the sun is up with large snow/ice piles blocking visibility.

Virtual simply isn't an option. We can debate some other time whether it should be in the future, but it isn't this year. It is unproductive to keep bringing that up.

The AP scenario seems particularly strange. If your child is too immature to be able to walk, ride a bus, or drive to school in these conditions, then they have no business in an AP class. College is going to be a shock to them. You're expected to be able to take care of yourself.

Ok you weird hostile PP, get over yourself. Clearly you know nothing about MCPS HS coursework. AP exams take place in May. It is already a crunch to fit all the material in prior to the exams, and frankly not much else happens in those classes after the exams. I'd much rather that my HS junior who has 5 AP classes has assignments to ensure that the curriculum can progress as intended.

And I never said my kid can't walk or ride a bus or drive. I did say that the giant snowbanks in my neighborhood would make it unsafe for the elementary kids to get to the school down the street. Why is that so hard for you to understand?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The sidewalk off darnestown road and quince orchard road to Quince Orchard HS were not plowed at all yesterday. It is quite dangerous for kids/teens to walk on the road to get to school.

Then walk on the snow. I'm sure there are plenty of footsteps to follow.

Anonymous wrote:The threads the last few days have made me really happy I got out of teaching last year. Nothing like being told how lazy you are when you give these kids everything you have.

Anonymous wrote:Hate to pile on(pun intended) the already difficult job the county has but I really wish they had taken the DC approach and actually remove the snow rather than just push it around. It would take a little more effort and logistics but it would make things a lot safer if they had loaded snow and ice into trucks and dump trailers and gone and dumped it at like Lakeforest Mall's empty lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The threads the last few days have made me really happy I got out of teaching last year. Nothing like being told how lazy you are when you give these kids everything you have.

Amen to that. From a current MCPS teacher.

We only take care of and love on and look out for THE most important thing in most people's lives (their children) and get shit on at every turn.

Storytime...we had a beloved teacher who had been a part of the school community for many years pass away a few years ago. Want to know how many parents/students/school community showed up at her funeral to pay their respects? 2 parents. That's it.

My whole view of my job changed after that.

Anonymous wrote:This is like during post pandemic or when the pandemic was ongoing and schools reopened and MCPS was sending out covid case numbers at each school but the report wasn't getting updated accurately or regularly and people were asking how many cases at that school and at that high school. What a mess. Close until the blocks of freezing rain have melted on pavements. Reopen on Wed. Announce closure Mon and Tues with childcare delayed opening. Announce early so families can plan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The sidewalk off darnestown road and quince orchard road to Quince Orchard HS were not plowed at all yesterday. It is quite dangerous for kids/teens to walk on the road to get to school.

Then walk on the snow. I'm sure there are plenty of footsteps to follow.

Snow is manageable. Being pushed into traffic because sidewalks weren’t plowed is not. The concern is that unplowed sidewalks force students into the roadway. That’s why sidewalks are supposed to be cleared.

They don't force them onto the road. They can walk on sidewalks that haven't been cleared. They can walk on lawns.

It’s hilarious that you think homeowners will allow that. Also, my school is a neighborhood that is all fenced.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The sidewalk off darnestown road and quince orchard road to Quince Orchard HS were not plowed at all yesterday. It is quite dangerous for kids/teens to walk on the road to get to school.

Then walk on the snow. I'm sure there are plenty of footsteps to follow.

Snow is manageable. Being pushed into traffic because sidewalks weren’t plowed is not. The concern is that unplowed sidewalks force students into the roadway. That’s why sidewalks are supposed to be cleared.

They don't force them onto the road. They can walk on sidewalks that haven't been cleared. They can walk on lawns.

Have you been outside or even looked around? No, they cannot. My front lawn is blocked by a mountain of snow the front wheeler dumped onto it clearing the street. There are big blocks of snow and ice everywhere else from clearing a path to my front door/clearing the driveway. We don't have sidewalks so the only place to walk has always been the street. I live half a block from an elementary school. The street one block up and around the corner hasn't been touched (also no sidewalks). So no, you cannot walk on lawns/yards.

The school itself looks like it's been plowed (it's a KAH location mentioned above) but that doesn't help if the neighborhood is still a mess.

Have you even been outside? There are absolutely paths through the snow from other people walking through it. Yes, it takes more time. Yes, you have to be more careful than usual. You might even get a little bit of snow in your shoes while you do it. But you can definitely manage. And the tracks demonstrate that.

When your argument becomes “kids can easily get to school by jumping fences, traipsing through yards, walking on unknown paths bc one other person did it- there are tracks!” You’ve lost your argument. Goodbye.

Read the comment again. I'm saying almost no yards have fences up to the street, so no, you wouldn't be blocked. And walking through a yard isn't trespassing. Look it up.

Walking through a yard might not get your 14 year old arrested, but it might get them chased by a dog or an adult.

Anonymous wrote:No school monday because there are so many sidewalks that need to be plowed

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The sidewalk off darnestown road and quince orchard road to Quince Orchard HS were not plowed at all yesterday. It is quite dangerous for kids/teens to walk on the road to get to school.

Then walk on the snow. I'm sure there are plenty of footsteps to follow.

Snow is manageable. Being pushed into traffic because sidewalks weren’t plowed is not. The concern is that unplowed sidewalks force students into the roadway. That’s why sidewalks are supposed to be cleared.

They don't force them onto the road. They can walk on sidewalks that haven't been cleared. They can walk on lawns.

Have you been outside or even looked around? No, they cannot. My front lawn is blocked by a mountain of snow the front wheeler dumped onto it clearing the street. There are big blocks of snow and ice everywhere else from clearing a path to my front door/clearing the driveway. We don't have sidewalks so the only place to walk has always been the street. I live half a block from an elementary school. The street one block up and around the corner hasn't been touched (also no sidewalks). So no, you cannot walk on lawns/yards.

The school itself looks like it's been plowed (it's a KAH location mentioned above) but that doesn't help if the neighborhood is still a mess.

Have you even been outside? There are absolutely paths through the snow from other people walking through it. Yes, it takes more time. Yes, you have to be more careful than usual. You might even get a little bit of snow in your shoes while you do it. But you can definitely manage. And the tracks demonstrate that.

When your argument becomes “kids can easily get to school by jumping fences, traipsing through yards, walking on unknown paths bc one other person did it- there are tracks!” You’ve lost your argument. Goodbye.

Read the comment again. I'm saying almost no yards have fences up to the street, so no, you wouldn't be blocked. And walking through a yard isn't trespassing. Look it up.